SERMON: New Testament Overview, Part 12: Conclusion




New Testament Overview
Part 12: Conclusion

  • I. Introduction
    • We’ve considered an overview of both the Old and New Testaments.
    • What should we think about the Bible, and what are some important points moving forward?
    • Tonight:
      • Understanding the Origins of the Bible
      • Understanding the Translations of the Bible
      • Understanding the Bible
  • II. Understanding the Origin of the Bible
    • The Bible is inspired by God, which is recognized by Christians
      • Naturalist <====> Supernaturalist
      • Manmade, erroneous <====> Every word, without errors  
    • 66 books by 40 authors over 1,500 years, yet one message by God
    • The sufficiency of special revelation
      • Gives a limited knowledge of God (Deut. 29:29; Rom. 11:33)
      • Yet, Scripture is adequate for our lives (2 Tim. 3:15–17)
    • The Bible is revelation from God which unfolds through time.
    • Manuscripts
      • The autographs (or autographa) = original, inspired documents (cf. 2 Pet. 1:21).  
      • Manuscripts are copies of those documents, but still considered God’s Word.  (Translations still God’s Word!)
      • Over 200,000 manuscripts (both pieces and complete) exist today. 
      • Manuscript examples:
        • O.T. (Talmudic manuscripts, 300 BC – AD 500; Masoretic manuscripts, 500-1000 AD) — Hebrew and Aramaic
        • N.T. (Western; Caesarean; Byzantine - 5th century; Alexandrian – earliest) — Greek
        • (Note: King James is from the Byzantine text family; The New American Standard includes the Alexandrian.)
        • Dead Sea Scrolls (found in early 1947-1956)
      • 10 manuscripts of Caesar’s Gallic Wars, the oldest one 900 years after Caesar
      • 8 manuscripts of Herodotus’ History, the oldest one 1300 years later.
      • Thousands of the Bible – even some partial mss from 2nd century. 
      • At least 95% of the variants are insignificant, like spelling, word order. 
      • Bahnsen:  “The providence of God superintends matters so that copies of Scripture do not become so corrupt as to become unintelligible for God’s original purposes in giving it or so corrupt as to create a major falsification of His message’s text”  (p. 185).
      • Westminster Confession:  
        • “The Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek, being immediately inspired by God and, by His singular care and providence, kept pure in ages, are therefore authentical; so in all controversies of religion, the church is to finally appeal to them.”
    • Canon of Scripture
      • “Canon” = a rod or reed, used in the ancient world to measure.  Thus, a standard or norm.
      • Questions:
        • Is it inspired? (Only those works inspired by God were canon.) 
        • Is it apostolic? 
        • Every NT book has authority since they were written by apostles or close associates of the apostles. 
        • Writings of later date could not be included 
        • Is it orthodox? (No works could be considered part of the canon that contradicted the apostolic faith — the faith set forth in the undisputed books.)
        • Has there been universal church recognition?
      • NOTE:  It is important to know that the church recognized the canonical books; it did not authorize these books to be included.
  • III. Understanding Translations of the Bible
    • The Vulgate (AD 385-404), the only version used for centuries.
    • John Wycliffe (AD 1382), 1st attempt in English language (from Latin)
    • William Tyndale's Version (AD 1525-1535), Translated from Greek, died before completion
    • Matthew's Bible (AD 1537), 1st authorized in England
    • The King James Version (1611), 7 years to translate, 47 scholars, to correct errors of the Bishop's Bible
    • The New American Standard Version (1960, 95), advantage of Dead Sea Scrolls, more literal translation of the Masoretic and Alexandrian text.
      • Revised in 1977, 1995, 2020
      • The Legacy Standard Bible published in 2021.
    • The New International Version (1973), thought-for-thought translation
    • The New King James Version (1982)
    • English Standard Version (2001) --- Essentially literal, revision of the RSV, which was a revision of the ASV, which was a revision of the KJV.
  • IV. Understanding the Bible
    • While we recommend a formal equivalence Bible (“literal translation”), the best Bible is the one you read and study.
    • Remember this is a spiritual endeavor and pray!
    • Remember the O-I-A approach:
      • Observe the text.  What kind of text is it? Who’s in there?
      • Interpret the text. What does the text objectively mean?
      • Apply the text. How can the text help you as a sinner?
    • Keep in mind that the Bible is about God’s love, but it’s not about you — it’s about Jesus!
      • “You’re so vain, you probably think the Bible’s about you!”
      • Everything in the OT points to Jesus, and the NT looks back to the work of Christ on the cross.
  • IV. Conclusion
    • “Visit many good books, but live in the Bible” – C H Spurgeon
    • The Bible is more important than anything we can read in science, psychology, literature, etc.  It’s the sufficient word of our Creator.  
    • It reveals everything we need for life and godliness… 
      • …starting with our need for salvation Jesus Christ
      • …and our necessary worship of life

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